The design of the flag was chosen in a vote by Police Department employees as the result of a contest open to all sworn and civilian personnel. The winning entry was designed by Police Records Clerk Danielle Medeiros.

Medeiros said the flag’s red, white and blue colors are symbolic of America, with the majority of the background color being blue to represent the Police Department. Five stars at the right represent the department’s five Core Values (integrity, professionalism, compassion, teamwork and community satisfaction) while the words “Serving and protecting with aloha,” summarize the Police Department’s vision statement. The department’s badge at the top corner is meant to bring an official feel, and the flag has an image of Hawaiʻi Island in the center in bold red so it can be visible from afar.

The idea to create an official flag for the Police Department came from former Hawaiʻi County Police Commission Chair Pudding Lassiter. Officers in the Administrative Services Section coordinated the contest, which ended with a vote of three finalist designs. The vote was held January 18-25.

Chief Harry S. Kubojiri said he left the selection of the flag’s design to the employees and purposely abstained from looking at any of the designs until after the contest committee chose the finalists. Even then, the chief chose not to vote in the contest because he wanted the employees to have complete control over which flag would represent their department.

After the contest, the winning flag became the property of the Hawaiʻi Police Department. It will be displayed at department ceremonies and community events.